Trump Announces “Major Combat Operations” In Iran

The U.S. and Israel have conducted coordinated strikes on Iranian targets, which President Trump described in an eight-minute video on Truth Social as the start of “major combat operations” aimed at defending the U.S. by “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” President Trump told the Iranian people in the video. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran: pic.twitter.com/LimJmpLkgZ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2026

President Trump is expected to address the American people on Saturday morning following the second U.S. strike on Iranian soil in less than a year. The first strike took place in June 2025, when U.S. stealth bombers dropped bombs on three nuclear sites inside Iran.

The focus on the Saturday morning strikes (Brent crude futures are closed), the president said, was to ensure Americans “will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran.”

In markets, with Brent crude futures closed, Bitcoin was hammered from the $65k level, down to the $63k level.

US and Israeli strikes on Iran come one day after the latest round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US, about which the president said he was “not happy with the progress,” adding: “They don’t want to say the key words: ‘We’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.’”

A US official told CNN that the US strikes were focused on Iranian military targets but did not comment on the ongoing operation. Another official told the outlet that the objective of the strikes was to address the Iranian military threat. The first official said the US military had put countermeasures in place to protect its personnel in the region.

AP News reports:

The first strikes of the attack appeared to target the compound home to Iran’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there at the time. Smoke could be seen rising from the Iranian capital.

JUST IN — The strike on the presidential palace in Tehran pic.twitter.com/YLY4ShMrUC

— UK Report (@UK_REPT) February 28, 2026

BREAKING:

Israel is currently striking Iran’s capital, Tehran. pic.twitter.com/xQ3lZSQm5h

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) February 28, 2026

Shortly after the strike, the US Department of Defense wrote on X, “Operation Epic Fury.” For context, last year’s strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities was “Operation Midnight Hammer.”

OPERATION EPIC FURY

— Department of War (@DeptofWar) February 28, 2026

Iranian state-run media outlets Fars and IRNA reported strikes in Isfahan, Qom, Lorestan, Karaj, Kermanshah, and Tabriz, as well as in the capital, Tehran.

Israel described the strikes against Iran as “a broad, coordinated, and joint operation against the regime” that was planned for months.

U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles flying over Iraq toward Iranpic.twitter.com/elRKAy7MK6 https://t.co/bJ3LEpDsMG

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 28, 2026

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recorded message that Israeli military action against Iran would be “much more powerful” than Israel’s 12-day operation against Tehran last year.

In response, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a wave of drones and missiles targeting Israel. There were other reports that the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet command center in the host nation, Bahrain, was targeted by Iranian missiles.

Iranian missile striking Bahrain.pic.twitter.com/e8mo4gEKKS https://t.co/x2AM1ErncS

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 28, 2026

Other reports suggest Iran launched projectiles at US bases and targets beyond Bahrain, and also in Kuwait and Qatar.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X, “The time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military assault. Just as we were prepared for negotiations, we have been even more prepared for defense at all times. The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will decisively respond to the aggressors with full authority.”

*Developing…